


Warm Animal

by BunnyCakes



Category: Z-O-M-B-I-E-S (Disney Movies)
Genre: Addison isn't mean guys, Angst, Curses, Disney, Disney Channel Original Movies, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Idiots in Love, M/M, Minor Injuries, Slow Burn, Werewolf, Witch - Freeform, Zed gets his heart broken, Zombies, background Eliza x Willa, crackship taken seriously, god zed is so oblivious, haha - Freeform, light Violence, pining wyatt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:01:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23709580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunnyCakes/pseuds/BunnyCakes
Summary: When Addison breaks up with Zed, he's left in shambles. With his usual friend group closer to Addison than him, he feels completely isolated. For once in his life the werewolves (or, werewolf) seem pretty inviting.Can he keep his new friends when danger arises in Seabrook once more?
Relationships: Wyatt Lykensen/Zed Necrodopoulus
Comments: 142
Kudos: 246





	1. Zed Attacks a Wolf

You know that feeling you get when you look at the person you really, really like and get those weird butterflies in your stomach? Well, imagine instead that those butterflies have tripled in quantity and are now eating away at all of your organs. That's how Zed feels laying in his bed.

His head was pounding as he reached for another tissue, his hands slightly shaking. The zombie's tears still soaked his pillow, not bothering to wipe them from his bloodshot eyes, due to the tenderness of them. He was curled up under his blankets, his soft cries muffled by the thick sheets.

Addison had just broken up with him.

It had seemingly come out of nowhere. He thought the date had gone great! He paid for dinner and even took her on a romantic stroll through Zombie town. She blurted it out after he tried offering a white rose, Addison then took off. He was left in the streets for what felt like hours, denying that he had heard her correctly.

"I'm so sorry, Zed, but I don't feel the same way I did when we met." That's what she had said to him. Even thinking about it had him clutching at his heart with desperation.

"Doggy?" Zoey whispered from behind the slightly ajar door.

"No doggy today, Zoey. Leave me alone, please." Zed mumbled from his bed. He heard her quiet footsteps of retreat and sighed to himself.

He dragged himself out of bed, stopping as he saw his reflection in the mirror. His skin was even paler than usual, darker bags formed under his eyes, and his clothes were wrinkled. He peeked through his blinds and found that the sun was beginning to rise. It was Monday morning, and he had spent all of yesterday and last night eating vanilla ice cream while watching sad chick flicks (Hey, don't judge him too hard).

He was sluggish throughout his entire morning routine, making his way to the breakfast table. His father gave him an apathetic look before sliding slimy eggs onto his plate. He managed a few bites before the ice cream in his stomach protested. Zoey gave him a hug as he left and he gave a weak smile in return.

"Dude, I heard what happened, are you okay? Do you wanna talk-" Eliza laid a hand on his shoulder when she managed to jog up to him.

"Nah, it's cool. I'd rather not." Zed offered a forced smile to her. Eliza and Addison had gotten closer to each other in the past few months and he'd rather not talk about her to a close friend of hers. He'd thought about complaining to Bonzo at school, but he's dating Bree who's literally Addison's best friend. As much as he loves Bonzo, he didn't entirely trust him to not let something slip around her.

Upon arriving, he could hear everybody's whispering, see them pointing at him and giggling or give pitying smiles. He'd give anything to not have had to go to school today. Throughout the day, he managed to avoid any glimpse of Addison. That is, until the inevitable disaster of lunch.

His body physically locked up as she approached the table he was seated at. She sat down next to Bree, a few seats away from him, thankfully. She had such a bright smile on that it hurt to look at her. She turned her head towards him, before correcting herself and quickly turning back to Bree.

He stood abruptly with his tray, dumping his trash and hastily making his way to leave, when he tripped over a foot that sent him flying. The entire snotty cheer table burst into laughter, some of the other parts of the cafeteria joining in. His face burned as he picked himself up with what little dignity he had left and managed a glare to Stacy, who had tripped him.

He found himself in the library, messing around with a pencil. His eye caught sight of Wyatt, who was occupied with a book in one hand, and a half eaten apple in the other.

When you've just experienced your first ever heartbreak, your mind might start to wander and jump to ridiculous conclusions; which is exactly what Zed's brain did. He recalled the few times that Wyatt had flirted with Addison when they were still dating. So, logically, he connected the dots that Wyatt had made a move on Addison and convinced her to break up with him, using his stupid wolf charm on her.

Hot rage made it's way to Zed's sleep-deprived brain and he stomped over to Wyatt. The werewolf looked up from his book and quirked a brow at his sudden entrance.

"Somebody take away your cauliflower, zombie boy?" Wyatt joked, offering a genuine smile to the zombie.

"Cut the crap, Wyatt. I know you like Addison." Zed seethed, crossing his arms in an attempt to appear tougher.

Wyatt shut his book and gave a laugh. "You're joking, right? I was only interested in the fact that she may have been the alpha. I didn't see her as a potential mate." he wrinkled his nose.

"Liar!" Zed slammed his hands down on the table, causing Wyatt to jump. A librarian hushed him from behind a book shelf and he mumbled a weak apology.

"Dude, what's your problem?" The werewolf rose from his seat and closed in on Zed. "Why are you acting so defensive? Just ask your little girlfriend if you're so insecure." He snarled and the other snapped.

Zed tackled Wyatt, who yelped as he was slammed into the ground. Wyatt dug his claws into his assailant's shoulders, scrambling to remove himself from his vulnerable position. Zed got in a punch to Wyatt's jaw, but the werewolf seemed hardly phased by it. He pried the zombie's fist away from his face, forcing it to the ground as he pinned his other arm with his elbow.

The librarian hushed them once more and they both murmured an apology to her as she left.

"Quit acting insane, man! I'm not interested in Addison whatsoever!" Wyatt hissed and Zed scowled up at him.

"Just admit to it! You made her break up with me!" He saw Wyatt's eyes widen and his grip loosened. Zed took this chance and kicked the other away, flipping up and brushing himself off. Wyatt sat in silence, trying to wrap his head around the already confusing situation. Watching Zed storm out of the library, the last bit of their confrontation finally became clear to him.

"They broke up?"

Overwhelming guilt consumed Zed during his last class. He should not have listened to his pain raddled brain. He should really get some sleep before deciding to strike someone that had no clue why he was being so hostile.

He slumped down in his desk, head in his hands, tuning out the teacher's lecture. He could just ask Eliza about it later. He didn't feel like taking notes while he was still processing that he just got dumped, and then assaulted another student based on biased assumptions.

He should write him an apology. No, Wyatt would see that as cowardly and he didn't need to have another person see him as pathetic today. He'd have to apologize to him before he left school.

He heard the bell ring and shoved all his stuff into his bag as he made his way to the front of the school. Wyatt didn't seem to be particularly hung up on what happened, laughing with Wynter. Zed suddenly felt awkward slowly approaching them. He expected glares from the wolves, but Wynter and Willa gave smiles to him.

"Hey! What brings you to us?" Wynter asked.

"Oh! Uh, I just, I need- I need to talk to Wyatt. For a sec," He rubbed his neck, breaking eye contact.

Wyatt stepped forward, "You guys can go ahead, I'll meet up with you at the den," he waved them off and they nodded before they left.

"You're not gonna pounce on me again, are you?" Wyatt teased.

Zed turned red, "I came to apologize about that! I wasn't thinking straight, and I just wanted any other explanation for Addison suddenly leaving me. I'm sorry I took it out on you." He tried to make himself as small as possible as the weight of his actions were realized (which was hard for somebody 6'2").

"It's fine. I understand that break-ups are tough. Not to make this any more weird, but you can like, talk to me, if you need to," Wyatt shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

"Uhm, yeah, thanks." Zed stiffly waved goodbye and swerved on his feet back towards his house. He couldn't wait to crash into his bed and go to sleep.


	2. Stacey Researches Drugs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad people are enjoying this fanfic! Thank you so much for comments and kudos and I hope you all continue to like it <3

Stacey thought her lunch prank turned out beautifully. She received an appraising look from Bucky, Lacey, and Jacey. She even got a huge chunk of the cafeteria to mock the poor, heartbroken zombie. You see, rumors spread pretty fast at Seabrook High school. So, it wasn't exactly a struggle to find out about Zed's suspicious buddy buddy-ness with the mutts.

The ACEY's had always hated the dogs and the fact that they now had to share a school with them was less than ideal. Stacey took it upon herself to do some snooping in a public library, while Lacey and Jacey kept watch.

"God, you don't think he's gonna become BFF's with those smelly mutts and try to do that revolution bullshit again, right?" Lacey jeered. Jacey cackled in response while Stacey rolled her eyes.

"Can you guys shut it so I can concentrate on my evil plan?" She sighed and continued scanning the pages, growing more and more frustrated as her efforts showed nothing.

She flipped a page more dramatically than necessary and a huge grin broke out over her face.

Wolfsbane makes werewolves go insane. Back when the ACEY's hacked the Z-bands, they were able to make zombies go berserk during a game. So, Stacey figured wolfsbane would bare the same effect on the werewolves. The pesky mutts would eventually find the wolfsbane and lose control!

When she whispered her plan to the other ACEY's, they all giggled in excitement. They were going to get their way once again!

"Why are we all being gathered into the gym?" Wyatt asked Zed as the whole school pushed and shoved each other in the halls to get a decent seat. He felt someone push on his bag and he almost knocked down a girl, apologizing to her and growling at whoever was behind him.

"A pep rally. We have them before the first football game or cheer competition to get everyone in the school spirit." Zed explained. 

The wolf pack waved to the two from the back row of the bleachers, Zed assumed it was for Wyatt and turned away.

"Zed!" Wynter called out, beaming brightly and waving frantically to him. Zed stood there, dumbfounded, until Wyatt grabbed his wrist.

They sat down in the back, the other wolves smiled in appreciation before turning to look at the center of the gym. Looks like the pep rally was about to start. The cheerleaders flipped through the air, making their grand entrance. Zed felt his stomach sink when he saw Addison appear from the middle of the cheerleaders.

One of the wolves took a sniff of the air, eyes glowing yellow, and lip curled into a snarl. The other pack members instantly held down the wolf, detecting the source of the problem.

"What's going on?" Zed whispered worriedly to Wyatt. His attention was drawn to the fact that Wyatt was baring his teeth, eyes reflecting a similar yellow. His knuckles paled and his figure was shaking badly.

"Grab my arms and lead me out of here," Wyatt's voice was barely a murmur, his teeth still locked together.

"What? Why-"

"Now!" Wyatt's fangs flashed from his growl and Zed quickly grabbed him, yanking him from his seat and racing them out of the assembly. He did not want to get mauled at a stupid pep rally. Wyatt didn't specify where to go, so he just ran to the first isolated area, which happened to be the staff bathrooms.

He shut the door behind him and Wyatt broke from his grip, flinging the backpack across the room.

"Get rid of the backpack," Wyatt splashed his face with water from the faucet. Zed was beyond confused at this point. Feeling a bit like a dog retrieving a stick, he scrambled over to the bag, not missing the way Wyatt growled when he walked past him. 

Zed had never run so fast in his life, his shoes screaming against the tiles as he made (impressively) sharp turns. Adrenaline pumped through his veins as he crashed through the back entrance of the school, sprinting to the dumpster and chucking the bag in. He bent over, slouching against the wall to catch his breath. He had no idea what just happened, but his heart was pounding in his chest.

He stood abruptly when he realized he had just left Wyatt, seemingly wolfing out, in a bathroom by himself. He groaned as he turned around and sprinted back inside, almost slipping on a wet floor, the janitor thwacking him with a mop.

Zed finally relaxed when he flopped down in the bathroom. He only briefly worried about the unsanitary flooring before seeing Wyatt fixing his hair in the mirror.

"You . . . seem to be . . . fine," Zed gasped between breaths, splayed out on the tile.

Wyatt failed to hide a snicker, "I'm feeling a lot better, thank you. That wolfsbane almost had me."

The zombie managed to pick himself up, "Wolfsbane? Someone tried to poison you!?" Zed shouted, bewildered.

"Maybe, but that stuff is like catnip to werewolves. Makes us go all soft and mushy on people," Wyatt's face wrinkled in disgust. 

Zed felt his face heat up. "Then, why were you acting so aggressive?"

"Trying to prevent myself from smelling and rolling in that stuff. The pack would never let me live it down if they saw me like that!" Wyatt opened the door and they both exited. 

"Wait, so why do our books say stuff like that?" Zed slipped off his jacket, cringing as it smelled like cleaning supplies. He mentally cursed the janitor.

"Your whole library is full of prejudice and discriminatory material. I'm not surprised they got quite a few facts about werewolves wrong." Wyatt shrugged. Now that Zed thought about it, a lot of the books in the library painted the humans as saviors or victims, never the bad guys.

"There's the stray," Willa called out, the wolf pack following closely behind her. 

"Nothing happened, Willa. Zed got rid of the wolfsbane." Wyatt rolled his eyes.

"Dammit! Nobody's fallen victim to the flower in awhile," the alpha huffed.

Wyatt glared up at her, looking none too pleased, "Did you plant this?"

"Are you stupid? Of course not. It's not fun when it's deliberate from the pack." She frowned, checking her nails. "However, this means someone outside us wolves is asking for trouble."

Zed stood awkwardly, looking down at his feet. Unsure of what to say, it felt like he was intruding on a family meeting.

Wyatt seemed to pick up on his discomfort, "It's fine, I'm sure they didn't mean any harm. Must have been a harmless prank somebody pulled." Wyatt tried brushing off the issue. After all, nobody would have been injured, just a few moments with zero personal space, then relentless harassment from his pack.

Willa looked like she wanted to argue more, but nodded anyway. "Whatever, but my guard is up after this fiasco." She flipped her hair and sauntered off.

Wyatt gave a thankful smile to Zed before joining Willa in her retreat.

Zed went to return to the assembly when he collided with another student.

"Ah! I'm so sorry! I wasn't-" Zed’s words caught in his throat, his gut churning.

"It’s fine, I wasn't watching either." Addison gave a smile, tucking back a stray piece of hair. She was just as beautiful as the day he met her.

Zed wanted to open his mouth, to say something, anything, but it was sealed. His throat acted like a lock, preventing any words he might regret later from spilling out.

"So, how have you been?" The white haired girl perked up, still smiling, like nothing's wrong; like she didn't recently rip out his heart and grind it into the pavement.

His vocals decided to give him some slack, "Uhh . . . good?" Not a lot of slack.

"Cool, that's good to hear." She nodded, rocking on the balls of her feet. "I'll be going now," she gave another blinding smile before leaving him.

That was the driest conversation he had ever had with her. Even awkward introductions at an interview go better than that! He had seen and talked to her without crying though, so he considered that a win.

However, if she was in the hallway, that must mean the assembly was over. The bell rang just as he figured and he sighed.

Two more classes to go.


	3. Opposite of a Cat Fight

Zed had heard the fight before he saw it. The loud bang of something being slammed against metal lockers, followed by snarls and screaming. He rushed over, hoping to catch a glimpse of the skirmish. What he saw was a huge crowd gathering around two individuals, a wolf and a zombie.

The werewolf’s eyes glowed a vibrant scarlet, her moonstone illuminating with the mirrored hostility her face was scrunched into. The zombie girl was in the more vulnerable position, her legs struggling to stabilize as she was jerked around effortlessly.

“Stop, Wendy! Please!” the zombie student begged, gripping onto the claws that were dug mercilessly into her ponytail. The she-wolf pulled her back, throwing her into the lockers. As the zombie was yanked upwards once again, a huge dent was left as evidence from the collision. The crowd cringed as their phones continued recording.

“Stand down!” Willa's voice broke through the crowd and she marched over to the lone wolf. The girl paid her no mind and continued her assault on the other student, even swinging her in Willa’s direction.

The alpha was appalled at this, dodging the ragdoll, and looking aggravated at the defiance. Zed moved forward through the boisterous crowd, about to break the fight up, but three teachers beat him to it.

The fight was stopped as quickly as it had started. The zombie girl was led to the nurses office while the werewolf, Wendy, was dragged to the front office, her teeth still snapping at the bystanders.

Zed jogged over to Willa, who looked beyond annoyed. “What happened? I thought your pack never attacked without permission?”

“They don’t, and this wolf had red eyes, not the normal yellow,” Her voice dropped, “something’s going on, and I’m going to find out.” Her eyes flashed before she left.

That didn’t really help at all. Zed was still confused as his peers walked by him, giggling and exclaiming excitedly about the fight. It was too early to understand anything.

Lunch wasn’t any better. People were still gossiping about the fight, dropping their own theories and viewpoints of the encounter.

“I always knew those wolves would snap one day.”

“Same, I heard they were dating and got into a big argument.”

“The dogs have serious anger management issues.”

Zed gripped his tray tighter, the racist comments about the wolves hitting a bit too close to home.

“Hey! Cut it out, not all the wolves are like that.” Zed chided to a table of freshmen as he walked by.

They were less than pleased by his two cents. “Whatever, virgin.”

Zed twitched at the comment, but did nothing to feed their fuel for another scandal. He took his seat at the zombie table.

“Hey! Haven’t seen you around in a bit. Having fun with your new BFF?” Eliza greeted him, Bonzo waved as well. He felt a little bad, he had basically ditched them after being dumped. It’s not their fault they broke up after all.

“Sorry, I just thought you guys wouldn’t want to see me. You two are close to Addison.” He shrugged nonchalantly, he didn’t want to admit he was just scared of how they’d see him. Scared of what Addison might have said about him.

He’s slowly getting together that Addison doesn’t like him anymore, but he still has a spot for her in his heart. Hoping she’d come back to him. Yeah, not necessarily a healthy way to perceive a break-up.

“So, I’m guessing you already know what happened with that couple?” Eliza’s smile fell at her own words. Guess she wasn’t seeing this as a good conversation starter, unlike the rest of the school.

“Yep, saw it first hand. Pretty nasty fight.”

Eliza shook her head, “They’ve never fought before, it doesn’t add up. Wendy and Alice were the only zombie and werewolf couple in the school. They were great!” Eliza waved her hands around, settling on rubbing her face in agitation.

“Willa wasn’t able to control Wendy. She said her eyes weren’t normal.” That seemed to pique Eliza’s interest.

“Not normal?” she pressed.

“No? They were red. I mean, I’ve only ever seen them yellow,” Zed pondered. Maybe there was something else going on.

“I’m definitely gonna look into that later.” She said, turning around to converse with the football players to her left.

Zed didn’t see a single wolf for the rest of the school day. After the final bell rang, he checked the cafeteria, library, and even the gym that was holding cheer practice. He made awkward eye contact with Addison, but no sight of the wolves. He’ll admit, he was getting a bit worried. Did the mayor issue another anti-monster rule for werewolves?

He waited for a few moments at the school gate, hoping his friends didn’t already walk home. He sighed as the last of the students dispersed and his friends were nowhere to be found, so he began his trudge home. This was becoming the usual.

A few months ago, he’d regularly have his friends over, or go over to his friends houses for games or to crash for the night when they felt like it. However, he hasn’t had anyone over in weeks. It was starting to become lonely after school. His little sister Zoey even had friends over, including the werewolf, Wanda. The only thing providing a distraction was his piles of homework.

Well, he was getting on good terms with the wolves, something he never thought would happen. Sure, they all banded together to get the moonstone, but many still held grudges against him and other zombies.

Zed’s stride halted as he saw a red sign, overtaken by vegetation.

FORBIDDEN FOREST KEEP OUT

He laughed as he realized he had subconsciously made his way to the Forbidden Forest. Maybe his mental health wasn’t improving as well as he had thought. He stood there for a few seconds, toying with the idea of visiting the wolves, despite the fact that they clearly ditched school for a reason.

Turning on his heel, he let himself walk a few meters back the way he came. After a few moments of false confidence in his decision, he stopped his trek.

Screw it. He stepped through the busted gate, crossing the concrete bridge. Hit with the realization that he wouldn’t have an ice breaker, Zed scrambled to think of an opening line of sorts.

 _Hey! Missed seeing you guys at school._ Nope, that sounds too clingy.

 _What are you guys doing? Can I join?_ Ew, that’s desperate.

 _Saw the fight this morning, you guys are ruthless._ God, no, did he want to get kicked out as soon as he arrived?

Zed groaned aloud, raking his fingers through his green hair. He was acting like a giddish school girl. He should stay simple, say he was dropping by to check in on them, then leave. They probably don’t want him sticking around in their den, especially since he tossed one of the wolves last time he was there.

He wandered for what felt like hours (In reality only 20 minutes) in the forest. He fished his phone from his pocket to check the time; it was only 4 o’clock.

A cold breeze brushed his bare arms and Zed shivered, deciding to slip on his jacket from his bag. All the trees looked the same, giving no indication if he was even going in the right direction.

He should head back, it was probably a dumb decision to look for the wolves when he couldn’t even remember the way to the den. Just as he turned to go back, he heard a twig snap, followed by a growl.

Zed let out a yelp as he was pushed face first into the grass, a heavy weight landing on top of him, effectively pinning him.

“Zed?” Wyatt asked, climbing off the poor zombie and helping him up. “What are you doing out here?”

“I could ask myself the same question. You guys ditched school, so I came out to see why.” He brushed the grass off his jacket, frowning as he saw the green had stained his knees.

“Well, you saw, or at least heard, of the fight between Wendy and her girlfriend. We had to retreat and figure out why she almost wolfed out.” Wyatt shrugged, “Not before stealing a few of the library books,” he gave a cheeky smile.

He motioned for Zed to follow him, presumably in the direction of the den. “Sorry for attacking you. You were in the outskirts of our territory and wolf instincts just kicked in,” Wyatt rubbed his neck, giving the zombie an apologetic look.

“It’s cool. Hey, consider us even.” Zed punched the others shoulder affectionately. Wyatt grinned back at him. An odd flutter made itself known in Zed’s stomach. He ignored it.

It was probably nothing.


	4. Wolves Know Nails

The den was as big as he remembered. The twisting of the tree bark around huge boulders and rocks sanded down from the constant usage. The open tree balcony let in the bright sun that Zed had missed from the towering trees. Honestly, it was pretty fucking cool to be standing at the entrance.

Willa had immediately stopped Wyatt at the front, dragging him away from prying eyes, sounding none too enthralled on an outsider being in the den. Wyatt seemed to argue with her, using a hushed shout between the two.

Zed was frozen in place, the werewolves that had resided inside decided that staring at the zombie was much more entertaining than their play fights and conversations.

Willa gave an audible huff and waved Wyatt off, who in turn gave a yell of triumph. He returned to Zed, placing a hand on Zed’s shoulder. The rest of the wolves continued their games, as if they were snapped into focus from a spell. How strange.

“Sorry about that, Willa didn’t really plan on any visitors after the night of Prawn,” the wolf gave a wave of his hand as he led Zed to a rock seat, slightly away from the rest of the pack. “However, I love having visitors. Don’t let the others scare you, they won’t try anything.”

Despite Wyatt’s reassurance, Zed still felt extremely unsafe in the den. He would like to think he trusted Wyatt, but his initial feelings on the wolf from their first meeting still rubbed him the wrong way.

Arms wrapped around Zed’s stomach, he squawked in protest as he was lifted into the air, the attacker residing behind him.

“Zed!” A sweet voice squealed.

He was roughly placed back down on the rock, with Wynter grinning widely down at him. Wyatt was laughing, trying to turn away and conceal his amusement of the situation.

“Wynter! It’s nice to be welcomed so warmly, but did you have to-to like-” Zed stuttered, having found that he’s being embarrassed quite a lot as of lately.

“Manhandle you?” Wyatt provided helpfully.

“I’m just glad to see someone come visit us since the incident. I’m happy to know that we have such a nice friend.” Wynter clasped her hands together, taking a seat beside him. “So, what brings you to our casa?”

“I came to drop by and see how you guys were. I should head back, I don’t want to intrude on any pack bonding time, or whatever you do in your free time.” Zed stood up, but Wynter and Wyatt grabbed at his hands in protest.

“You should help me with reading! Willa assigned us to pick through all these old lore books and such. It’s so boring with Wyatt, he doesn’t have my sense of humor!” Wynter pleaded as Wyatt looked offended.

“I am  _ not _ boring. I was the life of the party at Prawn, did you not see my dance moves?” Wyatt let go of his hand to demonstrate a vague break dance move. Zed laughed as Wynter looked on in horror.

“My point is proven, please join us!” The she-wolf turned back to him, and who was he to deny a damsel in distress (even though she could pummel him if she wanted to)?

“Sure, I’ve got time.”

Zed was introduced to their library, which he would have never guessed to be so huge. It reminded him of the bookcases from Beauty and the Beast, the wolves detested that story. He saw a carved boulder table, the top completely flat and the sides shaved in, with smaller rock ‘chairs’ sat beside it. Several books splayed open on the top, he assumed they were the books that the trio were going to go through.

“This many books?” Zed asked as he took a seat. Wyatt nodded solemnly.

“She wants us to be thorough, and to not worry the members of the pack that haven’t heard about the fight.” Wynter shrugged and began reading.

“Look for anything about werewolf abnormalities, or werewolf spells.” Wyatt told him and followed suit with his reading.

“Alright,” he mumbled, shooting a quick text to his dad about his whereabouts. He probably should have done that earlier.

They had idle chatter in between the turning of pages, but for the most part, they were reading. Zed was finding absolutely jack-shit in his books, along with Wynter and Wyatt. Zed was going to speak up and say he had to go, when Wyatt jumped up.

“A witch!” he exclaimed, but didn’t elaborate, leaving Wynter and Zed staring at him blankly.

He rolled his eyes as he turned the book in their direction, pointing a claw at a paragraph.

_ Although witches may tend to have familiars, many hold a natural dislike towards supernatural or magical creatures coming from animal backgrounds or those who are an animal in themselves. A few witches have even been known to hunt animals for sport, or hold them as trophies.  _

_ Popular animals include: _

_ Dragons _

_ Wendigos _

_ Griffins _

_ Werewolves _

_ Witches especially enjoyed cursing or casting spells on werewolves. Since they have a human and an animal side, they particularly liked watching them suffer with another burden. Others would keep the wolves as slaves or trophies of strength. _

Wynter and Zed looked up to Wyatt, who held a triumphant grin. 

“A witch is trying to make us her slave?” Wynter deadpanned, giving a strong expression of disgust.

“We don’t know what she’s done or trying to do, but it’s definitely not in favor of us.” Wyatt frowned, bookmarking the page and closing it. “I say we’ve done an excellent job, why don’t we take a little break?”

“Oh yeah! We’re doing nails!” Wynter declared, already racing out of the room to fetch supplies.

Wyatt snatched Zed’s hand, examining the plain nails, then making a click of disapproval. “Your nails aren’t doing too hot, don’t worry, we’ll fix them right up,” he winked.

He was going to disagree, saying that they’d get ruined, but Wynter and Wyatt were already seated on either side of him, beginning their manicure. Zed sighed in defeat, hopefully it didn’t take long.

  
  


Zed would admit, his nails looked pretty good. The dark green was dulled, without shine. Wynter said it was called matte.

Wyatt touched up Wynter’s nails, and then insisted that Zed try painting his. Of course Zed refused, very adamant on the fact that he would butcher them horribly. Wyatt didn’t mind, smiling as Zed painted on his finger, unable to keep in line with his cuticles.

They all laughed at his nails, Wyatt couldn’t stop staring at them, his face full of glee. Zed hadn’t painted nails before, so there's a first for everything.

“Wait till, Willa sees this. She’ll throw a cow. Literally.” Wynter giggled.

“Till I see what?” Willa strode into the room, looking at the table.

Wyatt held up his drying nails, the purple paint chipping around the edges of the nail. Willa looked like she was going to faint.

“Wyatt! What have you done?!” She seized the beta’s hand before dropping it, exasperated. “Tell me you at least got something done, since you had time to fool around.”

“Yep! We actually found out that your solo wolf issue was due to a witch.” Zed said.

Willa’s exasperated look formed into a scowl. “A witch? And you guys are messing around? Witches are serious business, they cast spells like it’s nothing. I can’t believe I didn’t figure this out beforehand.” She pinched the bridge of her nose.

The jovial mood in the room dissipated, leaving the Alpha’s consuming cloud of worry and frustration.

“It’s getting late, I should probably head out.” Zed sensed the tension and did not want to stick around to see the end results.

“I can walk you home,” Wyatt made a move to stand up, but Zed held up a hand to stop him.

“Nah, I can find my way, thanks for having me.” Zed waved them goodbye, Wynter offered a smile, and Wyatt gave a dejected wave. He felt Willa’s eyes on his back all the way until he made it out of the den.

He didn’t know why Willa’s mood had switched so fast. He understands that some situations need to be addressed, but they were just having a small break. Zed didn’t see the harm in that. He looked up to the sky, noticing the moon beginning to surface, the sliver of daylight on the opposite side.

Learning his lesson from earlier, he got out his phone, following a GPS back to his home and inputting the location of the den on his map. He was happy to return to his house with a wonderful smell wafting through the air, his father and sister smiling as he sat down at the table.

Seeing his family so happy, he couldn’t help but return the smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates are going to every other day, hopefully I can keep that schedule <3


	5. Cry by the Rocks, Coward

People were staring at him. The students covering their mouths and looking on in disapproval by their lockers. Zed didn’t know what warranted such a reaction, was it because of the break-up? He thought everyone would be over it by now.

He saw a discarded newspaper atop of a trash can. He didn’t know they had a school newspaper. He picked up the newspaper and looked at the front page.

WATCH YOUR BACK; THEY’RE ON THE ATTACK!!!

It included two side-by-side pictures on the cover. One was a blurry image of Wanda grabbing onto Alice’s hair from their infamous fight, and the other was a scene from the library, with Zed pinning Wyatt to the ground, his fist making contact with the werewolf’s jaw.

That was one way to get Zed angry.

He clutched the paper in a vice grip, storming off to find the cheer break room. The cheerleaders heeded a fair warning to Zed’s rapid approach, thankful for the gigantic windows on their walls. The windows weren’t a plus when he could see every second of their initial scramble to hide evidence, though.

He pushed open the door, shoving the paper in their faces. “Who did this?” His voice was nothing short of friendly.

They all simultaneously pointed to the ACEY’s, who were holding mirrors and trying their best to look nonchalant.

“Why did you write this?” He saw their faces morph into ones of mock innocence, “Don’t even try to say you didn’t do this, you guys have hated us since the first day we walked into this school.”

“So what if we did? You don’t have any proof, and it’s pretty easy to get this sheep of a school to follow behind us.” Stacey announced, sparing a glare in his direction. The other ACEY’s nodded in agreement.

“Did taking down the barrier mean nothing to you? Hell, even Prawn? I thought you guys matured, and I was thinking we could put our differences aside. Guess not. You guys are still childish freshmen.” Zed spat, tossing the newspaper into the trash on his way out, his fists still clenched.

The ACEY’s watched as he left. None of them would admit to the guilt that sat present in their stomachs for the rest of the day.

Zed woke up early the following day. He tried to go back to sleep, get another hour of rest in, but his body was uncompromising. He threw off his blankets and prepared himself for school. Wearing his usual attire, he went to grab a bite for breakfast. He froze as he saw a grey lunchbox sitting on the counter, with his name on a notecard beside it.

He picked up the note, seeing it was from his dad.

Hope you have a fun time on your field trip, bud! Call me when you arrive back at the school.  
-Dad

The trip to the Reserve! Leave it to Zed to forget about a field trip. Zed dragged his feet to his backpack, stuffing in items he thought he might need, such as bug spray and sunglasses.

He noticed neither his dad or Zoey were up yet. His dad must have packed the lunch the night before. He smiled as he headed out, maybe he could sit in the back of the bus if he was early enough.

The buses were lined up at the front of the school, he saw a few students boarding already. The sun wasn’t even up yet, the grass reflecting the morning dew. The zombies and humans wore similar expressions of either excitement or drowsiness. 

The teachers stood outside each door, telling the students which bus they were going on. When Zed got to his bus, he was relieved to find the back seats totally empty. He was grateful that he naturally woke up early, or he’d most likely would have been seated at the front and forced to talk to the teacher.

It was a Sophomore only trip, so luckily no annoying ACEY’s or Bucky. He waited on the bus for almost an hour, before a few wolves entered the bus. He smiled as he saw the familiar faces of Wyatt and Wynter looking at the seats with keen disgust. Looks like they weren’t fond of public transportation.

Wyatt saw him and took a seat in front of him, Wynter seated beside the other wolf.

“Willa not with you guys?” Zed asked.

“Nope, she got separated onto bus 2. Don’t worry, I saw Eliza get on that bus, so she shouldn’t attack anyone.” Wynter reassured, patting him on the head. Zed didn’t know what that meant, but let it slide.

Turns out werewolves are scared of moving vehicles. The entire two hour ride they were clutching the top of the seat in front of them. Zed would have made a joke, but he didn’t want to lose a finger.

The wolves were the first off the bus, racing each other before anyone could even stand first. Zed couldn’t be blamed if he let out a laugh at the scene.

Everyone was lined up outside, teachers and leaders trying desperately to put rowdy sophomores in order. He was given a sticker with the letter ‘H’ and told that the letter was his group he had to stay with. 

With Zed’s luck, of course he sees Addison adorning the same sticker.

The white haired girl waved to him and he reluctantly approached her. “Hey, looks like we’re in the same group.” He gestured awkwardly to the stickers.

“Yep,” Addison nodded as other people started finding their groups. Their excuse of a conversation was cut off as they were given permission to begin roaming around.

The reserve was a decently large facility, with a huge wooden mansion in the middle of an open field, several stone paths leading off into the forestry areas. A number of signs were littered across the paths. He was less than pleased to find out that Addison was the only person he knew in his group. Strangely enough, no werewolves were present in his group.

A lot of the day was spent talking to the natives that lived there and the history behind the buildings. So far, the only thing he genuinely liked was getting to pet one of the rabbits that the people on the reserve were nursing back to health.

Luckily, lunch wasn’t separated so he was able to sit with Eliza and Bonzo. Addison joined them at a picnic table under the shade of a tree.

“Blegh, it’s hot out here.” Eliza complained, fanning herself with her notebook. Bonzo grumbled his agreement in zombie.

“Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you, Zed.” Addison announced. “Why were you fighting Wyatt?”

“What? You fought Wyatt?” Eliza asked bewildered.

“It was in the school paper, we just got into a disagreement is all. We’re cool now.” Zed didn’t tell them that he had attacked him because of Addison. He still had dignity and preferred to keep it that way.

“Yeah, but why? You’ve never physically fought with anyone, you’re not that kind of person.” Addison persisted, totally forgetting about the time he ran into a den of wolves and threw one of them to protect her.

“Oh, we’re talking about character? So what if I fought with someone, it’s none of your business what I do.” Zed scoffed.

Addison’s face hardened. “I was asking because I thought you might have gotten hurt. Why are you being so mean?” He saw Eliza and Bonzo give each other worried looks.

“Why am I being so mean?” Zed looked in disbelief, “You just left me, Addison! I haven’t been myself for weeks. Did you forget that you dumped me and that I might be a bit upset by that. I was crushed, Addy. So forgive me for not wanting to be best friends with you right away.” He stood up from his seat, deciding he didn’t want to be at this table anymore.

His stride was angry as he walked off into the direction of a random path, not caring to listen to his friends call his name. God, why did he have to be in Addison’s group? He kicked a branch on the ground, his body still seething.

She wasn’t even criticizing him or mocking him, she was being nice, and he had to go and act like a fool in front of her again. Why couldn’t his feelings just dissipate already?

He saw a rock wall, decorated in vines and white flowers. With no hesitation, he slipped off his Z-band, roaring as he felt his veins pump blood with more force, cracking his neck and wrists. His blood boiled as he looked to the wall.

He punched the rock.

He hated Addison

He struck the wall again.

He hated being alone.

Again.

He **hated** Addison.

He felt the rock give.

Zed gave another punch, watching the rock cave in. He was panting hard, carefully slipping the Z-band back on. He sunk down against the piled up rocks, feeling choked out sobs wrack his body. He cried out in despair, a low pathetic wail unfitting of a monster.

He _missed_ Addison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Zed <3


	6. No, You Cannot Eat the Zombie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Image isn't loading, so you should be able to find it on Tumblr! https://bunnycakess.tumblr.com/post/639248844420481024/instead-of-warm-animal-update-once-again-you-get  
> Hope you enjoy the new chapter <3

He wasn’t lying next to the rocks for long. The gentle noise of crickets and the deep croaks of frogs provided a distraction from his aching head. The smell around the air was earthly, refreshing from the tight knit area of Seabrook.

Zed was eventually able to breathe again without any hiccups interrupting him. He took a deep breath before picking himself off the ground, mud clung to his pants and shoes. He was then painfully aware of his hands, that stung when he stretched his fingers out. His knuckles were bleeding, trickles of blood dripping down his finger tips. Hopefully he didn’t break anything.

The familiar soft sound of running water piqued his interest. He then realized that it was coming from the other side of the smashed in rocks. He lightly pushed against the wall, and watched as it crumbled, revealing a tunnel about six feet wide. Once he stepped in, he saw the protruding crystals from the overarching ceiling and jagged walls. Zed’s eyesight was muddled down from the lack of light inside the cave (he forgot his phone back at the table), so he wasn’t exactly able to appreciate them. The walls were littered with symbols, none that he could recognize. 

He walked for a minute down the twists and turns of the carved out path, before he saw the blinding light of a stream. The water was spilling from a statue of a wolf’s head, the jaws opened as wide as they could go, cascading down an abundance of purple crystals. The water continued on, leading out a very small opening on the ground, presumably outside.

Zed ran his hands under the water, sighing in relief as the cold water washed away the grime and blood from his hands. The red blended itself into the once clear water, coiling throughout in spirals and twists. He dried his hands on his jacket and was about to leave, but a twinkle of something caught his eye at the bottom of the stream where the dirt and rocks had settled.

The object let out small whispers, entering his ears and soothing his pounding head. He liked the gentle tune it poured out. He pulled out the object, turning it over in his hand. It was beautiful; an intricate metal weaving around a blue gemstone, which was carved in the vague shape of a heart. 

The necklace continued its lullaby of a melody, growing louder as he unclasped the chain. It wouldn’t hurt to put it on, right?

He shook his head, the song abruptly stopping. It would. No, he should not be putting on a necklace that he found in a creepy, magical cave.

He saw the blood from his wounds in the water start to spread, consuming the entire water into a dark crimson. He pocketed the necklace as the walls’ symbols glowed, lighting up the whole cave in a violently saturated cerulean.

Zed dashed out of the cave, not taking his chances of looking back as the cave glowed angrily. He tripped over an uprooted tree in his clamber to escape, crashing to the ground. He stayed on the ground, letting himself breath again. Just when he calmed himself down he had to go and discover a magical cave.

His heart leapt once more as he heard several footsteps slowly approach his way. He turned over, expecting to see students and a teacher that finally decided to go find him. He didn’t see anyone when he looked around though.

“Guys?” Zed called out, he received birds chirping.

A figure dashed behind a tree. Zed picked himself up, looking around at the trees and noticed that there wasn’t a stone path like there usually was. He strayed off the path and couldn’t remember where he came from, how awesome.

“Very funny, now come out wherever you are.” Zed’s voice dripped in sarcasm. The trees rustled as birds flew away. He stilled himself as eyes stared back at him from a distance. The eyes of a wolf.

Okay, a wolf, that may or not be hungry. He could take on a wolf. He heard leaves crunch from his left and whipped around, another wolf appeared. Then more wolves from all sides, he was being circled by at least seven. Zed didn’t like the new math he was doing in his head.

So, they were definitely hungry and hunting Zed as their prey. The zombie just couldn’t catch a break, could he?

One of the wolves snapped their jaws in his direction, and the other wolves joined in, growling and slowly inching forward, making his chances of finding an opening fall flat.

“I’ll have you know, I taste horrible,” Zed tried to reason with the wolves; as if they could understand him at all. “I’m the walking dead. Best to go find something fresh.” He slipped off his Z-band, quieting his transformation as to not set the wolves off any sooner.

One of the wolves grew impatient, and sprinted forwards. Zed was ready and dodged the bite, grabbing onto the wolf’s tail and hind leg, swinging it back into another wolf. The two yelped, but quickly recovered from their collision.

The other hunters bared their teeth, mock pouncing, trying to scare him into a more compliant meal. 

A loud howl caught all their attention, Zed was tempted to turn back, but didn’t want to take his eyes off the wolves and give them an opportunity to attack.

A wolf was tossed back, whimpering as it hit a tree. A dark figure landed in front of Zed with a thud, snarling at the approaching wolves. 

“Wyatt!” His own voice was distorted, but he had never been so grateful to see the werewolf. Wyatt only continued his attempted intimidation, crouching into a defensive stance with his claws out.

The wolves grew irritated, pacing around their prey more frantically.

Wyatt’s eyes flashed in a warning. The wolves flattened their ears and began a slow backtrack, eventually turning and scurrying away. Wyatt carded through the grass around them, finding the hidden Z-band and clasping it around Zed’s wrist hastily. 

He was almost mauled by wolves. That’s some added trauma to his tragic autobiography. He placed a hand over his chest to calm his racing heart, the leftover adrenaline slowly fading along with his zombified veins.

“Are you okay? Did they hurt you?” Wyatt turned to him, grabbing his face and checking both sides. Zed pried his hands away.

“I’m fine,” he said, but Wyatt narrowed his eyes and grasped his hands, looking at his knuckles. The scuffle must have prevented the injuries from healing, the skin yellowing into a bruise. Maybe not completely fine.

“What’s this from?” Wyatt interrogated. The wolf ripped off two strips from his shirt, wrapping them around the wounds before the zombie could reply. 

“I was just punching some stuff is all,” Zed explained, “besides, I’m more focused on how cool that was! You leaped like 20 feet at least! You had those wolves running back with their tails between their legs!”

Wyatt flushed, finishing wrapping his hands and looking away from Zed’s bright smile, “It was nothing. Normal wolves are naturally afraid of werewolves.” He rubbed his neck.

“Still, I would have been puppy chow without you. Thanks.” Zed enveloped Wyatt in a hug. The werewolf froze, unsure of whether or not it was okay to hug back.

“There’s the lovebirds. I knew we heard your howl out here.” Willa jumped down from an elevated rock, Wynter right on her tail.

Wyatt pushed Zed away, clearing his throat and straightening his vest, his face still pink. Zed shot him a questioning glance.

“I’m guessing the wolves you howled about are gone then?” Wynter looked around, and Wyatt nodded.

“You had me worried. I thought Willa might have had to pull her alpha card on them.” Wynter smiled in relief. “Let's head back before someone snitches in our absence.”

As they headed back the way they came, Willa spoke up, “Zed, what were you doing out this far?”

He didn’t know whether to come clean and embarrass himself, or give vague details. “I uh, I was just, you know, blowing off some steam. Addison and I got into a small argument.”

“You talked to her?” Wyatt sounded surprised. 

“I didn’t want to. It just got heated, and I acted out.” Zed added sheepishly. He didn’t like admitting to a weakness in front of the wolves.

“Eh, it’s understandable. She can be frustrating sometimes.” Willa waved it off. “I suggest waiting a bit to cool down more before talking to her again. We don’t want you running off again now do we?” She flashed a smile his way.

“You know you’re safe now, right? Nothings going to get you.” Wynter reassured, she was looking down at his hands.

His hands were shaking. “Ah, yeah. I know that.” Zed folded his trembling fingers behind his back, not wanting to draw any more attention.

“Well, well, what exactly made you kids think wandering off was a good idea?” A teacher scolded upon their arrival back to the main field area.

“Zed and Wyatt were trying to find the bathroom.” Willa crossed her arms, giving the teacher an uninterested look.

“Why did that take four of you?” Teacher questioned, not believing the lie for one second.

“Zed and Wyatt went off to find the bathroom, and we followed because we also had to use the bathroom. Do I need to prove that we had to pee?” Willa sneered.

The teacher looked shocked, “No, but I do not need such an attitude from you. Get back to your groups before I write up all of you for truancy.”

They scurried away, Zed grateful for Willa’s excuse, but also wishing she could have sounded a bit more apologetic to sell it. Zed was able to grab his belongings at the table he abandoned on his way back to his group.

What a fun field trip this was going to be.


	7. Shower Thoughts, But on a Bus

Addison was standing across the room from the group. They were inside a wooden building, listening to a native man talk about his time during a war. The white haired girl was deliberately avoiding eye contact. Zed didn’t know whether to be grateful for a reason to not talk to her, or offended she wouldn’t look at him.

Zed decided to leave it. He didn’t have to worry about her on the bus, so it was better like this. His stomach growled and he quickly covered it. He didn’t get a chance to eat his lunch.

He was preoccupied by the animals though, watching in amazement as a handler brought out a doe, missing her front right leg.

“This young deer’s name is Simpson. She lost her front right leg when a car hit her on the highway. She has a permanent limp, so she cannot return to the wild.” The keeper explained, feeding her a handful of seeds.

Someone asked if they could pet her and the lady nodded, “One at a time please.” She stepped to the side, still holding onto the rope wrapped around the doe’s neck.

A few people pet Simpson before Zed, giggling while the deer licked their hands. Zed approached her, reaching his hand out to pet her head when the deer jerked back. The doe’s eyes were wide, thrashing to get away from him, letting out a distressed bellow.

“Woah, Simpson, calm down!” The keeper laid her hands on the pelt, rubbing her body soothingly. “Sorry, guess Simpson doesn’t want any more pets today.” the lady apologized and several students whined at the loss of the animal.

“Way to go, Zed.” A girl jeered. He rolled his eyes and looked down at his hands, noticing the cloth around them. Wyatt’s shirt. He pursed his lips as he realized the deer must have smelt the werewolf on him and got scared.

He didn’t even use his notebook on a single thing at the reserve. In fact, he didn’t see anybody taking notes except Eliza in her group, who was constantly talking with Willa.

The crescent moon was shown in all its glory at the end of the day. A few students made off handed comments about the werewolves, receiving a scowl from any wolf nearby. Everyone was tired and sweaty from being outside nearly the entire day, so students were surprised and jovial to find that teachers had coolers of drinks and food for kids to eat on the ride back home.

Zed sipped on his Caprisun, staring out the window as the bus engine revved to life. Soon enough, the ancient reserve plains disappeared from view, leaving only the constant streams of trees.

“Have fun at the reserve?” Wynter asked, peeking her eyes over the top of the seat.

“If you exclude almost being eaten alive by wolves, then yeah, fine.” Zed mumbled, sinking into his seat more. 

The cave had a wolf statue in it, maybe the werewolves know something about it? No, wait, did it have a statue? Where was it? He rubbed his temples, reaching into his pocket for the necklace, but there was nothing there. He cursed, he must have dropped it when he tripped.

The cave was fuzzy, he couldn’t even remember what the necklace looked like, his head aching when he tried to remember. It would suck to think he had a concussion. He should talk to take his mind off of it.

“Did, you guys have fun?” He returned the question. Wyatt’s brown eyes popped up beside Wynter’s.

“I liked the Native speakers.” Wynter gushed, “Their stories of battle and blood spill were amazing.”

Wyatt gave Wynter a concerned look before answering, “It was OK, but I enjoyed being a knight in shining armor for a certain damsel.” Zed swore he saw Wyatt’s fang shine.

Zed pouted, “I wasn’t a damsel.” He adjusted himself in his seat to see the two better. “By the way, how did you know where I was? I wasn’t even on a path.”

Wyatt looked flustered, “I, well-you-see, I just.” He scrambled for words, “I heard you in distress, so I, you-know, went to investigate.” The wolf’s ears were red, along with the rest of his face. Zed found himself smiling, he looked cute.

He quickly squashed that thought down, it was nothing like usual. “Did the animals run from you guys?” He changed the subject.

“Yep, and I really wanted to pet the deer, she was so cute!” Wynter huffed, “The curse of being a werewolf.” She dramatically flopped onto Wyatt, forcing him down in the seat.

Wyatt growled and pushed her off as she laughed at him. They shoved each other, trying to see who could get the other to submit first. Zed watched in a weird version of fascination as they laughed at one another.

Sadly, a teacher snapped at them and Wyatt and Wynter begrudgingly broke apart. Zed looked around to the other students on the bus, finding that nearly everyone had their eyes closed. It was pretty late, nearly 10 o’clock. He wasn’t surprised to find the wolves energetic.

“Willa’s gonna make us do more research tonight,” Wyatt complained and Wynter groaned, throwing her head against the seat.

“Really? I thought she said she’d give us a break tonight since we had a field trip.” The she-wolf picked at her nails.

“Nope, she was in a good mood this morning because she got to be with Eliza. Some students pissed her off later and her way to blow off steam without killing anyone, is doing research with us.” Wyatt pointed his thumbs at himself. Zed zoned out after that, leaning back against the seat and plugging his earbuds in.

Eliza and Willa had been hanging out lately. He assumed Eliza was out with Addison the majority of the time, but he remembered seeing the two at a froyo stand a week or two ago, before the werewolf and zombie fight.

He would like to think Eliza would tell him about a crush or being in a relationship, but he knew she probably wouldn’t have. He’d been pretty distant these past couple of weeks when it came to his best friends. He didn’t even know if Bonzo and Bree were still dating.

Man, that’s kinda sad.

He’ll have to take them out for dinner or something, especially after his temper tantrum during lunch. Zed physically cringed as he recalled himself storming away from the table. Yeah, definitely taking out Eliza and Bonzo for food.

The rest of the ride was spent in silence, the bumping from the tires providing a lull for Zed to sleep. He called his dad before he got to the school, to let him know that it was him opening the front door, not a stranger.

The buses screeched to a stop and the sophomores all slowly dragged themselves from their seats, mumbling to each other and rubbing their eyes. As usual, the werewolves raced everyone off the bus (not appreciated by anyone other than Zed).

Zed sighed as he began his trek home, pulling against the straps on his back. This was an instance that he wished they had a car so he wouldn’t have to walk the mile home, in the dark, alone.

The streets were illuminated by tall poles, giving small crackles of false confidence. Zed felt like he was in a blockbuster horror film.

“This is the part where someone jumps me and I scream.” Zed muttered to himself, glancing around at the alley ways.

Zed screamed as a girl turned the corner. The girl jerked back, letting out a scream in an identically high pitch. She stumbled back, landing on her butt and scooting away.

They both stared at each other, not knowing who was going to make the first move. Zed finally shuffled her way, holding out a hand for her.

“You startled me,” Zed said bashfully as she accepted his hand. It was too dark to see her features, but he saw her hair was snow-white. He was suddenly afraid he had crossed paths with Addison, but her skin was too dark to be his ex’s.

The girl said nothing, brushing past him once she was up on her feet. He saw her figure make a dash to another street, staying within the unlit parts of the street.

“Weird,” Zed mumbled. He made his way to his house, seeing his dad already opening the door.

“Son! Have fun with your friends?” His dad pulled him into a side hug, ruffling his hair.

“Yeah, it was great.” Zed gave a forced smile. He didn’t want to share his near life death experience with his dad, he might grow overprotective again and not let him out for a while.

“Awesome. There’s leftovers in the fridge in case you’re hungry. Be quiet as Zoey’s sleeping, and goodnight.” His dad smiled tiredly and headed into his own room.

Zed skipped on the leftovers, preferring to take a shower and flop down onto his bed. He drifted to sleep, his dreams consumed by the shadowy shapes of wolves.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slower updates were inevitable, but I'm still working on the story! Also, thank you for 420 hits, the favorite number <3


	8. Catching up with the Homies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm awful at schedules and I'm sorry this took so long. This chapter is slightly longer than usual as a thank you for waiting <3

Zed had sent Eliza and Bonzo a text Sunday morning, asking if they wanted to meet up to eat, just like he said he would. He almost backed out, worried they’d say no. He saw his phone light up, the notification coming from their group chat.

**(Eliza’s Rats)**

_**TheOgRat:** U guys up for a bite somewhere today? _

**_LizQuiz:_ ** _Yeah, sure_

**_LizQuiz:_ ** _I’m free at 1pm :)_

**_Trumpetboy:_ ** _Ziggy gah zomb! (Yeah I’m hungry!)_

Zed smiled, quickly shooting a text back.

_**TheOgRat:** Awesome! Freddy’s diner? _

**_LizQuiz:_ ** _Yep_

**_TrumpetBoy:_ ** _Guboo ah (The usual)_

He tossed his phone down, getting ready for the afternoon. It was so refreshing to know he’d get to hangout with his friends again. It had been too long. 

He spotted Eliza first, seated outside the diner. Bonzo popped up from behind a trash can holding a chipped plate, presumably for one of his many intricate instruments. Eliza noticed Zed approaching, waving to him from the rickety metal chairs. 

“Took you long enough.” Eliza joked, elbowing him as he took a seat. 

“Oh come on! I was late by two minutes! Zoey wanted both dogs for a bit.” He explained.

Bonzo raised a brow, but patted him on the back. “Nice to hang out again.” His words were slow, but nearly perfect English. Zed looked taken back. 

“Oh, whoa! You’ve improved so much!” He looked at his friend, who was fiddling with a menu bashfully.

“Bree, Addison, and I, have been taking turns at teaching him English when he’s up for it.” Eliza shrugged her shoulders.

It felt like a punch to the gut to know that Addison was using her free time to teach one of his best friends a language, while he hadn’t spent time with them in so long. 

The waiter came out to them on the patio, taking their orders, then quickly retreating back inside. There were a few people that still weren’t exactly accustomed to monsters in Seabrook.

“They’re nearly half-way done with the new Cheer Pavilion. It’s sad that the power plant is gone.” Eliza sighed. Zed knew she tried to protest the destruction, they all did in the end when they found out the moonstone was underneath.

“I know you like it. Very sad, yes.” Bonzo said. Bonzo personally didn’t care for the plant, the empty building and the smell of mold put him on edge.

“What have you guys been doing in your free time?” Zed asked. He was waiting for football practice again next week.

Bonzo smiled to the waiter as he brought their food, placing the meals down with shaky hands. They said their thanks, but they doubted the man heard them. 

“Gurruh Zah la Zee.” Bonzo stared off into the distance in a dreamy daze.

Zed laughed. “It’s good to hear you guys are still dating.” He internally thanked every god known to man. He didn’t know what he’d do with a heartbroken Bonzo. 

“I did some digging on the werewolf issue.” Eliza said after a bite of her salad. “Willa mentioned they most likely had a curse placed on them by a witch that had a dislike for them. So I researched online and found a few curses witches commonly cast.”

“You really did your part, huh?” Zed was only slightly jealous that Eliza was proving to be more useful to the wolves than him.

“Yep, and I’m pretty sure the curse is some sort of relationship one. I can’t prove it unless another fight happens, but basically I think if a wolf is dating someone, there will be a random interval where they act out and attack their partner.” Eliza’s hands were demonstrating a fight between two people (Zed assumed).

“Gamza zur ah?” Bonzo asked.

Eliza’s eyes were focused and serious, her teacher explanation mode on. “That’s just it. The articles that I read never mention any way of breaking the curse. All they say is that wolf packs that are affected are never seen again.”

“You can’t be serious. Are the wolves going to be killed off?” Dread worked its way up Zed’s body. He couldn’t let his friends be picked off by some selfish witch!

“Maybe, but the spell affects pack partners, not siblings or friends within the pack. If she wanted them dead, she would have cast a different spell.” Eliza explained, Bonzo at least appearing to follow along.

“How can we help them, then?” Zed asked.

“I guess we have to wait until another fight happens. If they liked each other, then my theory is correct, if they didn’t then we are back to square one.” She said, her eyes downcast to her drink. “Such a stupid spell. Based on feelings.”

“Sounds like something an insecure girl would do.” Zed scoffed. Seriously, what kind of witch was this?

The trio fell into a silence as they finished their meals and paid. Zed suggested they walk downtown for a bit, but Bonzo said he had plans with Bree, and Eliza had homework to do. He wished the group lunch had lasted a bit longer, he missed them.

He settled on roaming downtown himself. The weather was nearly perfect, with a slight breeze and warm sunshine cascading the buildings. A little window shopping never hurt anyone on such a nice day.

It was almost overwhelming to see so many displays of clothes, jewelry, and restaurants lined up with one another. Seabrook was all about being fancy and having the best outfits to fit in. With the integration of monsters, they’ve even incorporated some of their fashion into clothing designs. The only people to ever buy them were zombies though.

It was more like pandering to the monsters, saying ‘Hey! We’ve got something you’ll like’ and it’s just an insensitive copy of the uniforms they were forced to wear. He wandered into a thrift shop, instantly smelling the musty interior of the building. Zed was used to old smells like that. Zombie town didn’t exactly get the best material for buildings. 

The store never changed, the same as when you first walked in. The counter to the right with the old zombie lady that politely greeted everyone that came in. The refrigerator that probably had soda from the 90’s still in it. In fact, Zed remembered seeing a brand of soda that was discontinued five years ago nestled into its corner (Also worth noting that it was discontinued because humans got lead poisoning one year).

The shelves were cluttered with miscellaneous items, stuffed bears, whisks, shampoo. You name it, and it's probably up there. That was part of its charm. If you wanted to find something specific, the store would somehow have it stocked up. He came in often, purchasing small knick-knacks for the shelves in his room.

He picked up a silver brooch of two doves intertwined in front of a full moon. New items must have been put on the shelves, he didn’t recall seeing this before. Then again, it was so small. Zed flipped it around in his hand, almost cutting himself on the strangely sharp edges, and saw the 50 cent sticker.

“Sure, why not?” He shrugged his shoulders and carried it to the counter, making his purchase and leaving the small thrift store. The aged look on it made it appear more ancient and Zed quite liked that effect. Maybe he’ll put it on his backpack, or his jacket instead of the shelf?

As he was looking down at the piece of jewelry between his fingers, a loud crash caught his attention. A trash can rolled out from a nearby alleyway, luckily empty. He pocketed the dove brooch, approaching the back street. Hopefully it was just the usual raccoons.

Another crash, but this one came with a yelp of surprise. Zed quickly skidded around the corner just as someone was tossed in his direction. Zed and the stranger went flying back, colliding back into the sidewalk.

The blonde girl pushed herself off of Zed, paying him no mind. Zed was slightly discombobulated from the impact, but recovered quickly enough to jump to his feet. He noticed the girl’s blue dress had a sleeve hanging on by a thread, torn almost entirely off. Her hand pressed against her shoulder, a deep red seeping past her fingers. 

“Stop, Weston! This isn’t you!” The girl held her bloodied hands up in surrender to a teenage boy at the opposite end of the secluded lane.

The boy bared his sharpened teeth. Werewolf fangs.

Weston gave no reply, his eyes burned red and lunged towards the girl. Shit, he couldn’t let him attack her again! Zed pushed the wolf mid jump, to try and put some distance between the two, but Weston wasn’t deterred after he hit the ground.

“Don’t hurt him!” The girl screamed.

Weston immediately bounced back and went for the girl again. Zed managed to grab his vest and yank him back. Weston slammed into him, both of them hitting the sidewalk harshly. Zed felt his heart pick-up in speed and his bones crack. Shit, the Z-band came off.

With his newfound strength, Zed was able to wrestle himself on top of the werewolf. Weston still had free range with his claws and sliced at his face. Zed’s left cheek stung and blood dripped onto the wolf below him.

He suddenly couldn't breathe. Smoke surrounded them and Weston began coughing, his eyes flickering back to a warm brown. Something tightened around Zed’s throat and he was yanked off the wolf. He clawed at the foreign restricting feeling, letting out a roar as he was dragged across the concrete.

“Leave him alone! That zombie was trying to help!” The girl wriggled around in the grip of an officer.

He saw Weston struggle against a dog catcher pole. The blur of blue surrounded him and Zed felt the fight in him give. He was getting arrested. _Again._

The smoke eventually cleared and Weston was calm, not letting his eyes leave the ground as he was led to the ZPD van.

“Yeah, we have a 10-11 and 11-32.” The officer behind him said into his radio. The familiar click of a temporary Z-band and handcuffs made Zed sigh. As he felt his body relax, he glared down at the metal. These things were always so itchy.

He let the men guide him into the van, not surprised by the rude shove one of them gave him. “So, what gives?” Zed asked Weston.

“I don’t know what happened. One moment I was kissing my girlfriend, the next, my hands had her blood on them.” His voice was shaky as he spoke.

Zed slumped in his seat. So, Eliza was right. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 10-11 means Zombie without their Z-band  
> 11-32 means a feral werewolf/dog
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and I apologize again for the long wait on this chapter <3


	9. New Look

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another month, another chapter! I have included a little drawing from one of the scenes in this chapter :)

Obviously, this wasn’t the first time Zed was arrested. His first encounter with the police was when he had the brilliant idea to steal a limited edition action bot from a convenience store. He’s been a stone cold criminal since the age of nine.

Human police were common in Zombietown so when the officer found young Zed trying to slip past him with an unpaid toy in hand, he was taken down to the Police station. Zed wasn’t sure if it was even legal to arrest someone his age, he probably would have put it back on the shelf if the man asked him to. 

Then, there’s the time he was taken into custody when he went full Zombie at the football game. It was scary, losing control for those few moments. 

The ZPD van screeched to a stop and Zed was forced down into a chair that seemed manufactured to be uncomfortable. Actually, it might be the old gray one he sat in after the football game. A random officer gave him a wipe and a bandaid for his cheek. He rolled his eyes, of course no one was going to help him put it on. He slapped it on and hoped it covered the scratch.

He was seated there for about half an hour, listening to the clacking of keyboards and the ringing of phones. He absentmindedly rubbed at his wrist, the new Z-band was itchy and uncomfortable. 

Eventually, an older man approached him, wearing a faded navy blue uniform. His face was wrinkled with age, laugh lines prominent among his old features. His badge read, ‘Deputy Toms’. This was one of the kinder men at the station.

“Listen kid, you have the right to remain silent, blah blah, you understand right?” The man tapped away on a tablet, “Ah, Zed Necrodopoulus. You’ve been here before.”

“Yes, sir.” Zed nodded.

“I remember dealing with you from the football game. Can’t believe I forgot your face. Have you gotten taller?” Deputy Toms asked.

“I guess, haven’t bothered to check in awhile.” Zed didn’t know if it was for the better or worse that he already knew the deputy.

The Deputy nodded, “Anyways, this report states you were engaged in conflict with a werewolf in public, and in addition, not wearing your Z-band. Is this correct?”

“I was trying to subdue the werewolf. He was attacking his girlfriend, so I stepped in to defend her.” Zed stated, doing his best to sound as calm and formal as he could. Shouldn’t he be asking these questions in an interrogation room?

“Well, that checks out with the witness's statement. With the werewolves acting out lately, we aren’t holding people that were defending themselves or others accountable.” Deputy Toms states, “ Also, since you’re a minor. I pulled a few strings so the Z-band incident is forgiven and-” A loud clang startled both of them, the harsh metal of a door being slammed open against a concrete wall.

Papers went flying and Zed turned to look at what caused the commotion. He sighed as he saw it was Willa, Wyatt, and Wynter, but quickly did a double take. Maybe he hit his head harder on the sidewalk than he thought because it looked like the wolves were sporting  _ furry ears and a matching tail. _

The officers inside the building snickered at their appearance, but had no qualms once they were met with 3 piercing gazes and mouthfuls of fangs.

The Deputy approached the trio. “You guys can’t keep doing this every time one of the wolves is in our custody.” Toms exhaled, not bothering to comment on their looks.

Willa raised a brow, “Can’t keep doing what? Entering your den? Last time I checked, any human can, so why can’t we?” 

Wyatt’s eyes lit up as he saw Zed seated behind the older man. He seemingly ignored the Deputy, leaving the talking to Willa and Wynter as he made a beeline to the zombie.

“What are you doing here?” Wyatt slid into the seat beside him. Zed noticed his tail was thumping on the chair.

He couldn’t peel his eyes from the fluffy ears. “Uh . . .” His new coat matched the fur pinned to his vest. Zed only stared blankly at Wyatt, the question flying over his head.

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer.” Wyatt quipped and stood up, pulling Zed along with him by his wrists. The zombie felt the heat from his body rush to his face.

“You guys have wolf appendages! The werewolves definitely didn’t have those on the field trip.” Zed said, his eyes still glued to the ears. They twitched at his voice.

“Okay, okay. No need to shout.” Wyatt rubbed at the side of his head.

Weston shouldered his way out of the interrogation room. Sporting the same feral attributes, he was led by two officers to Willa and Wynter. His handcuffs were unclasped and he was immediately pulled behind Willa.

“Whatever, yeah, we can pay I guess. Zed is coming with us, though.” Willa’s voice was firm, using the familiar alpha tone he had heard during the first fight at school.

“He was going to be dismissed anyway. I don’t see any problems, but please,” Deputy took a step closer to Willa, “keep your pack under control. I don’t want to have to detain any more of them.”

Willa nodded and flipped her hair as she walked back to the entrance with Wynter and Weston in tow. Wyatt scrambled to follow, motioning for Zed to do the same.

“So, how did you manage to get Weston off the hook?” Zed asked them once they were outside. A few pedestrians scurried out of their way once they came into view. They must have looked like some sort of gang, all exiting the station at the same time.

“Willa used her awesome alpha negotiating skills and managed to make the deputy let him go.” Wynter smiled back at him, hands clasped beside her face and sighing in admiration.

“I agreed to pay fines and his girlfriend agreed not to press charges is all.” Willa brushed off her praise. “Weston, you have to tell us exactly what happened when we get back to the den.”

“Yes, Willa.” Weston replied meekly. It was weird seeing him so docile now. Especially after he had just fought Zed. The werewolf turned to face the zombie.” I’m sorry about attacking you.”

“You attacked him?” Wyatt did not look pleased, his eyes narrowing at the omega.

“He didn’t mean to, it was that witch curse.” Zed explained, deterring the hostile reaction. “You’re fine, Weston.” He placed a reassuring hand on the wolf’s shoulder. Weston smiled in turn.

Willa paused at a store corner, turning to face the group behind her. “Listen up, I want Weston to return to the den with Wynter and I for questioning and pack healing. Wyatt and Zed are on research duty, which was what we came into town for in the first place.” She ordered.

“Aye aye, captain.” Wyatt and Wynter said in unison, straightening their backs and saluting to her. They both wore twin grins, goofy in nature.

Willa rolled her eyes and walked away with half the idiots. Leaving the other half with Zed. Wyatt turned to Zed, grinning at him. His tail swung excitedly from left to right.

“So, partner in crime, which library are we stealing from first?” Wyatt whipped his head back and forth, surveying their options.

“I don’t want to go back to the Police station, so I say none. Let’s just go in and read the books like normal patrons.” Zed suggested, snickering as he saw Wyatt pout.

“Boo. You sure know how to have fun.” Wyatt huffed as they both began walking back downtown.

“Uhm, actually, yeah, I do. Before the powerplant was taken down, we used to have killer zombie mashes down there!” Zed jumped in front of Wyatt as they walked. “Not to brag, but I was the best dancer.” Zed boasted, putting on an impeccable show of his moonwalk.

Wyatt stopped his trek and crossed his arms. “Really? That’s the best you got? You just moonwalked.” Wyatt grinned and raised up a fist and one of his legs. “I can show you some moves.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” Zed narrowed his eyes at the wolf. The other’s grin only turned darker.

“I would.” Zed covered his eyes in horror as Wyatt did The Hype.

“Stop! You’re burning my eyes!” Zed waved his free hand in Wyatt’s direction as his face turned crimson. He hoped no one was watching them.

“C’mon, why don’t you stop me?” Wyatt continued his onslaught of the dance.

“Wyatt!” Zed had peeked through his fingers and saw the wolf had shifted gears and was now Flossing. The zombie snatched his hands before he could continue the public humiliation.

Wyatt looked at the embarrassed teen and laughed. It was a nice, genuine sound, the type that was severely contagious. So, Zed blames it on that when he starts laughing as well.

  
  
  


“Are they on drugs?”

Lacey, Stacey, and Jacey were seated at a cafe, looking on judgmentally at the two boys.

“No, Lacey. It looks like they’re having fun, or something.” Stacey rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her decaf coffee.

“I didn’t think they would actually become BFF’s.” Lacey said, cocking her head.

“You don’t think about a lot of things.” Jacey teased, squealing when Lacey shoved him out of his seat.

“Behave you two!” Stacey snapped, setting her coffee down. “Instead of acting like uncultured swines, why don’t we come up with a plan to ruin their day?”

“But, didn’t we already do that newspaper article? Besides, Bucky isn’t really focused on the zombies and werewolves nowadays, he’s been swamped with school president work.” Jacey countered as he got up from the ground, sitting back in his seat that he scooted away from Lacey.

“The newspaper article was lame anyway. We can just follow them for now. We have nothing better to do.” Stacey’s chair screeched as she stood up, dropping some cash on the table. “Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and the extra drawing I did! Would love to know if you guys would like more art in the story or if you guys prefer no art :)  
> (I may or may not go back and do a few pieces for the previous chapters)  
> If you can't see the drawing, here's a link to it on my tumblr https://bunnycakess.tumblr.com/post/622690457703661568/a-scene-from-chapter-9-of-my-zyatt-fanfic


	10. This is Definitely Not a Date

Zed had never been in the downtown library before. He had a card, but never used it. Eliza comes here all the time, occasionally with Bonzo, but not him. He never really had a need for the public library when he barely used the school provided one. Wyatt looked relieved to be inside the building, letting out an audible sigh as he draped himself along the provided couch. 

“Giving up so soon?” Zed joked, slowly making his way to the endless rows of shelves.

“No way! I’m just taking a small break. Willa made Wynter and I stay up till four in the morning to scan all our library books, for the third time!” Wyatt threw his hands up in the air, “She thinks we’re going to find something new everytime we reread a book. I’ve been in this library twice.”

Zed picked a book with a promising cover. “I mean, did you find anything interesting?”

“Nah, I only found a book explaining the history behind witches. Nothing on our current wolf curse.” Wyatt yawned and stretched before standing back up. “I should probably check anyway though.”

Zed couldn’t help but feel bad for Wyatt. Willa didn’t seem like the person to just hand out breaks when someone was a little tired. He remembered how frustrated she got when they had done each other’s nails. Wyatt seemed like he needed some time off.

“Do you wanna get froyo?” Zed blurted out. 

Wyatt’s hand froze on the book. Shit, wait, was that weird to ask your friend? Were they friends? They’d been on good terms for a while, ever since Addison broke up with him. So they are, right?

“I mean, I can check out a few books and we can head to the froyo place down the street instead.” Zed added quickly, rubbing his neck. Wyatt didn’t move. “My treat.”

After a few seconds, Wyatt smiled and turned to face Zed, his tail thumping happily against the sofa. “Really?”

“Yeah, I mean, why not? You deserve a break and I’m desperately craving something sweet.” Zed shrugged.

“Zed Necrodopoulus, you sure know how to treat a wolf. Let’s go!” Wyatt handed Zed a book, racing to go wait by the door.

Ah, okay. That wasn’t so bad, was it? Zed placed his newly acquired books on the front desk, letting the librarian scan the books and his card. He noticed his hands had a slight tremble as he picked up the three books. Why was he so nervous? He felt his heart thump against his ribcage as he approached Wyatt, who was eagerly standing by the door.

  
  


The froyo shop was slightly more expensive than the cart, but they had a wider variety of flavors. Of course, that didn’t really matter to Zed, because he  _ always _ went with vanilla.

Wyatt was thrilled to see all the flavors the froyo parlor provided. He had eaten the classic vanilla that Zed had suggested, strawberry cheesecake, and cotton candy. Zed didn’t mind at all, seeing at how happy Wyatt became with each bite. He assumed he could consume so many calories because of his werewolf metabolism. Lucky him.

“It’s a bummer we don’t have this stuff at the den, we’re usually stuck with wildlife, berries, and nuts in the woods.” Wyatt licked his spoon, “It’s getting harder to find deer these days, though.”

“You guys actually eat wild animals? Raw?” Zed asked before taking a dainty bite from his vanilla froyo. He didn’t know if he could stomach another bite after Wyatt’s answer.

Wyatt smirked, “We  _ are _ wild. Besides, you talk as if your ancestors didn’t eat brains.”

“Touch é .” Zed muttered, taking another bite of his frozen dessert anyway. “Speaking of being wild, you never explained why you wolves, well, look more like wolves now.” 

“Oh, these,” Wyatt gestured to his fluffy ears. “It happened about an hour before we got to the police den. Our moonstone's went haywire and next thing we knew, we had new appendages."

“Do you think it had anything to do with the fight? Eliza said that the only wolves to ever attack their partners were dating outside of the pack.” Zed explained, albeit dumbed down.

Wyatt’s face grew concerned. “Maybe. Eliza actually came by the den and said the same thing before we got wind of the incident downtown. We’re going to have to keep wolves with human or zombie partners away from them.” Wyatt sighed, looking down at the table.

“I guess we can look through these books in the meantime- Before you have to go back to the den and tend to your official pack duties.” Zed teased slightly, becoming relieved as he heard Wyatt chuckled under his breath.

“Yeah, you’re right. Hand me a book, zombie boy.” Wyatt grasped the book he was offered and opened it to a random page.

It was a nice comfortable silence after that. The idle chatter from the other patrons inside the parlor provided a pleasant white noise. It was easy enough for Zed to block them out and focus on the pages in front of him. 

It was also slightly easier to drift off into his own mind. The last few weeks were jam packed with events, one thing after the other. The field trip was a blur, which is strange considering the tour was only yesterday. Of course, he remembered the awkward outburst towards Addison and Wyatt saving his life, but he couldn’t remember the events in between.

After yelling at Addison he ran off into the woods, punched some stuff, and then Wyatt was separating him from a pack of wild wolves. He must have blacked out or something. Maybe from the amount of stress?

Football was about to kick up again. The first few weeks of school were a sort of break for Seabrook Highschool. The Coach liked to sell ice cream during the hottest weeks of the year, then go right back into coaching football practice. Zed estimated he’d be done by next week.

Zed was snapped back from his thoughts as something tapped against his hand. He looked up to see Wyatt wearing a concerned expression.

“Spacing out much?” Wyatt said.

Zed cleared his throat, “Sorry, I was just,” he debated on whether or not to tell Wyatt. He might be able to explain some things on one hand, but he didn’t want to add on to Wyatt’s already hefty list of worries. “Thinking about football is all.” He wasn’t lying, he  _ was _ thinking about the sport.

“Alright then. You wouldn’t mind if I grabbed another small cup, right?” Wyatt asked, but Zed didn’t think he had much of a choice as Wyatt was already slowly slipping out of his seat, staring at him with hopeful eyes. 

For some reason, it was difficult to even want to say ‘no’ to the werewolf. “Go right ahead.” Zed said, smiling. Wyatt was up in a second, already at the counters. The lady gave him a bewildered look, surprised to see him up there again. Zed didn’t miss the way Wyatt’s tail started wagging again.

Zed went back to looking through the books, realizing that he should probably be focused on reading and not Wyatt. The pages all read exactly the same. Old witchy lady usually, vengeance, selfish, potions, blah blah. They’re practically plagiarised from each other. Zed paused, rereading a page after mindlessly staring at it.

  
  


_ No matter the strength of an individual witch, they all have similar weaknesses. If a witch is simply not powerful enough to cast a spell, there's a considerable margin for errors to occur. This margin will expand as the difficulty of the spell increases. _

_ Witches also need to obtain a tremendous amount of focus for spells that go over large distances and/or affect multiple individuals. They will always need a resting period from performing magic before continuing on with the same level of intensity, slowly increasing the power, or dramatically changing her input to the spell. _

_ Resting periods are the most dangerous for witches, as it is easier for them to be killed. With their magic greatly depleted, they are rendered essentially to the status of a human mortal. Some witches manage to avoid this by hunting powerful creatures from magical backgrounds, despite their natural dislike to them, and using them as shields.  _

_ Of course, witches enjoy showing them off to others and flaunting them to obtain higher statuses, however, many use them for a second purpose, bodyguards. Witches resting are more vulnerable, much like how creatures need to sleep and are rendered defenseless. Witches will use their exotic creatures to fend off intruders, assassins, and anyone the witch does not want near their home. _

“Okay, well, that’s new,” Zed mumbled to himself, glad he didn’t dismiss the page.

“Aw, your shirt is like, totally ruined.”

“Yeah, looks like you’re gonna need to find a new one, puppy.”

Zed froze, because he swore he just heard the ACEY’s-wait, did they say puppy?

He turned around in his seat to find all three of the Acey’s in front of Wyatt, who had a huge scoop of frozen yogurt smeared all over the front of his shirt. Wyatt wore a polite smile on his face, looking almost apologetic to them. Zed stood up, his chair screeching against the tiled floor, and walked over to the four.

“Why hello, Zed,” Jacey sneered, resting his hand on his hip.

“What did they do?” Zed asked Wyatt, completely ignoring the ACEY’s in favor of grabbing some napkins and helping get the frozen dessert off Wyatt’s shirt. He resisted the urge to snicker when he heard Jacey scoff in disbelief.

“I didn’t watch where I was going and accidentally bumped into them. It’s no big deal.” Wyatt gave a smile, flashing his fangs discreetly at the ACEY’s. They didn’t miss it.

“Whatever, you two have fun on your date.” Stacey rolled her eyes and strutted out, the other two ACEY’s giving them a final glare and following in her footsteps. Zed didn’t realize the cafe had gone quiet until chatter started back up again. The ACEY’s just always had to start a scene.

“I swear they have nothing better to do than follow people and make them miserable.” Zed sighed, throwing the napkins in the trash. Wyatt’s shirt still didn’t look any better, the bright red dessert muddled down and mixed in with the dark orange color of the shirt, creating quite an ugly looking shade of brown.

“You wouldn’t happen to have an extra shirt on you, would you?” Wyatt asked, not expecting a positive answer.

“Sadly, no.” Zed made a show of checking all his pockets but stopped at his jacket. That’s right, he has a jacket. That zips up. “But I have a jacket.” Zed offered.

“Are you lending me your jacket in the middle of a froyo cafe?” Wyatt raised a brow and Zed sighed, shrugging off the jacket.

“Yeah, just change into it. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t wear three layers of clothing in this weather.” He held out the clothing for the werewolf and he gratefully took it, giving him a smile before walking off into the bathroom to change.  
  


Wyatt’s got good definition in his arms. Also, more tattoos than he thought. Not that Zed was purposefully checking him out, but he had never seen his shoulders, or shoulder, as weird as that sounds. They left the cafe after Zed paid, taking their library books while Wyatt held his folded clothes and for some reason, he couldn’t stop staring at his arm.

That has to be creepy. He really shouldn’t be so fixated on someone’s arm, it’s literally just skin, like the rest of everybody else's body, nothing special. But, it was different, seeing Wyatt wearing his jacket. The way his muscles flexed when he stretched his arms or adjusted the jacket and-

“Zed? Are you spacing out again?” Wyatt snapped him out of his trance once again, waving his hand in front of his face. “You’ve spaced out twice this trip, am I boring you?”

No way Wyatt was boring him, quite the opposite actually. “What? No! I’m just a little tired from walking around all day.” Zed wasn’t lying this time either. He  _ had _ been walking around for a good handful of hours and was a little tired.

“Right,” Wyatt replied, not sounding convinced, but thankfully let it slide. Zed decided to walk in front, to prevent himself from continuing his staring.

Wyatt’s hand shot out, dragging him back next to him by the back of his shirt. Zed lost his footing and crashed into Wyatt, dropping his books in the process, but the werewolf didn’t budge, only moving his hands to steady the zombie. A bucket full of water was splashed onto the concrete in front of them. 

“You missed you dumbass!”

“Well I didn’t know they were going to walk back!” 

“They can hear you two yelling, you know that right?” 

Indeed, they could. Wyatt was less than impressed by this judging by the rumbling noise coming from his chest. Zed bent over to pick the dry (Thank god) library books, seeing to his right that the ACEY’s were pressed up against the alley wall, failing miserably at camouflaging themselves.

“Har har, you guys are so funny.” Zed straightened back up, dusting off the library books and putting them back in his arms. “Must be hard being so funny all the time. I bet you were going to impress a lot of people by pulling that stunt, huh?”

Stacey huffed, “Oh shut up. Our little prank backfired, so what? We have more where that came from.” 

“You mean more poorly thought out ideas? Sure,“ Wyatt pulled Zed to walk with him, away from the three morons. 

“Hey, wait! You can’t walk away from us like that!” Jacey yelled at them.

Zed did a small check for any children, then held up his middle finger.  
  
  
  


They were in the forest now and it was beginning to get dark. The sun was setting gently over the horizon. The two had been walking in silence for a bit, just bathing in the sounds of nature. Zed didn’t get to hear it often, only the occasional arguing from neighbors and the TV’s blaring noise on the nights his father fell asleep watching TV. It was so different. So relaxing.

“Do you always want to be out here?”

Wyatt looked confused, “What do you mean?”

“The outdoors, nature, do you enjoy all of it? Or are there nights where you wished you lived in town, with air conditioning, and supermarkets so you don’t have to worry about where your next meal will come from?”

“It gets hard out here sometimes, with winter making it more difficult to take down prey, and the occasional altercations with hunters trying to shoot in our territory, but I still love it here. This forest is the only home I’ve ever known. My family has lived here for generations and they have always protected this forest. I grew up admiring the beauty of nature and to not take too much or too little. A change of scenery is always interesting though, and provides room for new perspectives. Sorry if that didn’t answer your question.” Wyatt replied, absentmindedly brushing his free hand along the plants that passed by. “What about you? Do you always want to be in town?”

It took a little bit to process everything Wyatt had said. He wasn’t expecting an in depth answer from such a laid back guy. He must really love his home to have had such a fond look on his face.

“Me? Not really. I mean, Seabrook is still getting used to the fact that zombies are allowed to roam free and use the same bathrooms as them. With werewolves here now, the city feels like it’s being strained, as if we’re asking too much, to simply be treated as equals. It sucks sometimes, but I guess like what you said, I still like it here despite the bad. Yeah, people are awful and should just shut up, but I’ve made so many good memories with my friends in this town that it almost evens out. I love Seabrook, but hate the humans.”

Wyatt slowed his walking to a stop, Zed following suit. “Aren’t you the main reason the town is allowing zombies and werewolves to walk in? Addison helped too, but you’ve done so much for the town, praising it and uplifting it so it can be a place you're proud to live in.”

“I guess you’re right, but sometimes I wonder if it’s even worth it. Still have a bunch of racists.” Zed laughed dryly.

Wyatt gripped Zed’s shoulder. “Listen, Zed. I haven’t been in the town for nearly as long as you have, but I can still sense a change everyday. I know you love your home, if you didn’t you wouldn’t have even bothered. I know it’s not necessarily your job, but you and your friends have done such great work by letting people see things from a new angle. This conversation is a little different from our usual banter, but it’s always good to sometimes voice doubts. I also hated the humans when they started to pollute the forest, but us werewolves got together and cleaned it up.” There was a shift in Wyatt’s eyes, they turned softer, the firm grip on Zed’s shoulder receded to a gentle placement of his hand. “Afterall, when you love something, you want to keep it safe.”

Something happened, Zed didn’t know what or when, but he was suddenly aware of his pounding heart, it sounded as if his blood was roaring in his ears. He was leaning down, Wyatt was leaning up, his eyes slipped close as he felt fingers run through the back of his hair. He was so warm.

Wyatt’s comforting hands were jerked away and Zed’s eyes flew back open, he pulled even farther away, suddenly taking deep breaths. He looked to Wyatt, who had his back turned to him and was hunched over, looking as if he was in pain.

“Wyatt? Are you-are you okay?” Zed stuttered, his hands had a vice grip on the library books now, not knowing where else to release his sudden panic.

“Yeah, I’m fine, just-” Wyatt made a pained noise from the back of his throat and Zed rushed up to him, opting to place the books on a nearby rock.

“You’re not. Let’s get you back to the den and-”

Wyatt turned around at that,holding his hand up to Zed. “No, no, it’s all good.” The werewolf straightened up, cracking his neck. “See? I’m fine, it must have been all that froyo I ate.” He said with a smile that did not reach his eyes.

“Okay, but we still have to get these books back to the den so I can just come with you to make sure you’re-”

“No!” Wyatt’s eyes flashed yellow, his voice sounding almost panicked. It had taken Zed by surprise and Wyatt immediately changed his tone, “I mean, no, it’s cool. You go ahead and head home before it gets too dark to see.” 

“Are you sure?” Zed couldn’t believe he was going to just let Wyatt walk away.

“Yeah,” Wyatt had picked up the clothes and books and was already turned around. He paused for a moment. “Be safe,” he finally said and headed towards the den.

Zed stood there for a few moments, not understanding the situation. Had he done something wrong? Wyatt must have changed his mind halfway through and ran away. Zed was already regretting letting him walk away so soon and with such a poor excuse. What had even been happening? He had to have been doing something Wyatt hated, where did it go wrong? They were talking for a bit, Wyatt had reached up and-oh my god.

They were about to kiss.

“Fuck.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY, I'm sorry about this long wait. I honestly just didn't want to post this chapter because I thought I was going to draw a picture with this one too, but I grew frustrated with the illustrations when the angles weren't working. School started about two weeks ago, so I'm not sure when the next chapter is going to come out. I really REALLY hope it's not another two month wait for you guys. Thank you so much for reading the story so far <3

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly, this ship is not popular, but I don't care because I love Wyatt and Zed. Hope you are enjoying this little story I came up with in quarantine <3


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